


you and me, together?

by toolovelyhyun



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, College, College AU, Dramedy, Everyone Has Issues, Everyone Is Gay, F/F, Friends With Benefits, Implied Sexual Content, LOONA ensemble - Freeform, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, goth jinsoul, heehye hate each other, hyejoo has a double life, hyunhye siblings, lipsoul roommates, lowercase intended, oec focused, yerim kinda also has a double life, yveseul roommates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 04:22:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29645709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toolovelyhyun/pseuds/toolovelyhyun
Summary: jungeun hates her soulmate, and sooyoung doesn't know why.jinsoul and hyunjin are waiting for each other, but are being kept apart.yerim has a choice. her soulmate, or her girlfriend.haseul doesn't know her soulmate, and vivi plans to keep it that way.jiwoo has chosen to be with who she wants, regardless of the mark (or lack thereof) on her skin.yeojin is an eager writer, who wants to know if love is ever really a choice or if destiny is set in stone.or10 idiots are trying to get their life together, and jiwoo and yeojin just came along for the ride.
Relationships: Choi Yerim | Choerry/Park Chaewon | Go Won, Choi Yerim | Choerry/Son Hyejoo | Olivia Hye, Ha Sooyoung | Yves/Kim Jungeun | Kim Lip, Jo Haseul/Viian Wong | ViVi, Jung Jinsol | Jinsoul/Kim Hyunjin
Comments: 8
Kudos: 65





	1. prologue.

**Author's Note:**

> hi everybody! ah, i'm really nervous for this... i hope you all love it. (for reference, their hair colors are from # drought, when we were waiting for 12:00)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi everybody! ahh, i'm really nervous about this one, i hope you all love it. 
> 
> (ps: the hair colors are from waiting for 12:00 drought era)

_"what do you think it was like?" jinsoul asked, vague and with no context to what she was talking about. maybe the movie they'd just finished watching? watching? more like sobbing their eyes out to._

_jungeun sighed, knowing this situation way too well, "what was?" if jinsoul liked the answer to the question, jungeun got a kiss. and jungeun never turned down jinsoul's kisses._

_"before soulmates." jinsoul got up from jungeun's shoulder, her eyes still teary, "before the world told you who was for you and you just... had to meet people? were people happier?"_

_jungeun's brows furrowed at the question, why was jinsoul thinking about that? was it because it was her birthday? that was a common thing to think about on your special day. that no matter how great your day was, your twentieth birthday would always be the best. because that's when you would find out who was your soulmate, the person the universe deemed perfect for you, with their name permanently inked onto your sin. still, jungeun hated that jinsoul was worrying about something that was three years away._

_"i think people were freer. happier? that's debatable." jungeun's hand went up to jinsoul's cheek, the last tissue wiping away at her red skin. "you would date people and choose who you put your time into. who was worth it, who you thought was your person. not because a name told you so. and in a way, i think we're the freest we can be right now. we can fall in love and understand what it is, what we want with who. because we don't have our mark yet." she shrugged, looking up at jinsoul's smile._

_"can i kiss you?"_

_jungeun's ears went red, "s-suddenly?" she chuckled._

_"can i?" jinsoul repeated with a smile._

_"that's a stupid question." jungeun muttered as she pulled jinsoul in for a hungry kiss._

_now, the two best friends had always had something special between them, a thin line between friendship and love. but most people didn't know that, most people knew them as jinsoul and jungeun, the best of friends. and the few people who knew about how intimate they really were with each other, were never supposed to find out. jinsoul's parents weren't supposed to find out. that's why jungeun had crawled through the window to see jinsoul, because her parents let her invite anyone to her party. anyone but jungeun. that was also the reason jinsoul put her dresser over her door with no lock on it. more than anything else, jinsoul wanted jungeun for her birthday. to be wrapped in her arms._

_as long as nobody found out._

\-----------

six years later, nothing had changed.

except everything had. 

"would you stop that?" jungeun's roommate scoffed, "it's not gonna go away, you know." 

jinsoul and jungeun's... friendship wasn't about love, it was just about needing someone to physically comfort them.

"maybe it will." jungeun scrubbed hard on her wrist, just like she did every morning, jinsoul or no jinsoul. she'd pray that the universe would get the hint and that name would go away, but of course, it never did. "if a name randomly appeared on someone's skin fifty eight years ago, it can disappear too. i know it can." she bit her lip in focus.

"stop wasting your time, and come back to bed." jinsoul weakly reached her hand out, drowning in jungeun's bedsheets, "i'm freezing." 

"put on some clothes, then." jungeun threw jinsoul a oversized shirt from her bag dirty clothes. 

"i don't want your stinky clothes." jinsoul said as she put the shirt on, "i want you to come back here and spoon me." 

"i'm busy." jungeun tilted her up, sighing at the kisses decorating her neck, "and you marked me, too."

"it's not like anyone's going to see them. and you weren't too soft with me either." jinsoul sat up, stretching and popping her neck. 

"you told me to go rough on you." jungeun rolled her eyes.

"did i? i don't remember much." the girl's ebony locks bounced as she took light steps to the bathroom, "wait, how'd we get home, then? you were drunk as well."

"yeah, yerim drove us." jungeun didn't say anything as jinsoul's hand trailed down her bare back. 

"what?" jinsoul's brows furrowed, _"she drove us and we didn't die?"_ she eyed the scratches her nails had left on her best friend's back, making a promise to massage her later to make up for it.

"you don't remember? you kept whispering about kim hyunjin and how your life was wasted because you didn't get to meet him." jungeun chuckled. 

"hey, just because your soulmate is an ass, it doesn't mean my hyunjin is. i bet he's tall and hot and angry and damaged and-" she closed her eyes. "wow. hot." 

"soul, your childhood trauma is showing." jungeun clicked her tongue. 

jinsoul smiled, "and your psychology major is showing. you see everyone's problems but your own."

"at least i can acknowledge that this..." the younger of the two pointed between them, "is a thing. that we aren't just friends. unlike you, who, outside our rooms, this doesn't exist and you're straight."

jinsoul held her breath, "that's not nice. you know i was kidding." 

"yeah well, we all have our issues." jungeun washed her face, "don't give me the morning after 'i'm straight' talk. i practically know it by memory, and i was in between your legs for at least two hours." 

"whatever." jinsoul huffed, "must suck to be sooyoung."

"you cried when i wasn't your soulmate." jungeun raised a brow, "and when i got mine, you said you'd do anything for it to be you."

"zip it." jinsoul sat on the toilet as jungeun chuckled, "that was a long time ago. before i knew how much of a clean freak you were." 

"hey! you wanted to do it in the kitchen and i just? _the germs???"_ jungeun shuddered at the memory. 

"you're so lame." jinsoul giggled.

\-----------

meanwhile, in the dorms, sooyoung was getting ready for class, not without haseul eyeing her, though.

"you're so creepy." sooyoung squinted, putting on a long-sleeved yellow shirt, "what about this one?" she spread her arms out awkwardly. 

"your dad has no taste in clothes." haseul shook her head disapprovingly. "doesn't your mom own a clothing shop or something?"

"yeah, but that's my mom." sooyoung smiled, pulling the shirt off gently, "my dad is..." she blinked as she carefully folded the shirt, and put it back in a cabinet, not throwing it to the floor like she'd done to the rest of her clothes. this was a gift. yeah, from a father who had no idea what kind of clothing his favorite daughter liked, but still. "well, i don't know what he does, can't be anything related to fashion, though." 

"ouch." haseul ran her hand through her short hair, only for it to perfectly fall back into place, "seriously, why don't you just let me pick out your clothes?" 

"because i know you too well, seul. you're gonna put me in a tube top and tiny little skirts, like that jinsoul girl you had a crush on." sooyoung rolled her eyes, looking through her clothes once again.

"that was one time!" haseul defended, "and it was your first real college party. you needed to have some... spice? pizzaz!" 

"yeah, but skirts? in the middle of winter?" sooyoung scoffed, pulling an off-the-shoulder top out of the hangers and slipping it on. "i lost three years of my life that day." 

"please? i promise to put you in something tame. dress code appropriate, even." she raised a brow. 

"don't worry about it. how does this look?" sooyoung flipped her hair, obviously proud of her simple outfit, white shirt and black pants.

"impressive." haseul said monotonously. "you need some jewelry. and a bandaid."

"on it." sooyoung sang cheerfully, pulling a bandaid out of her clutch and sticking it on her back, on top of the name she learned to hide. 

"better." haseul smiled, "now, my silver collection. for the love of god, put some accessories on." 

\-----------

"dark question, but." the silver haired girl in the passenger's seat started.

"oh no." hyunjin sighed, rolling her eyes. 

"wha- i didn't say anything yet!" chaewon looked at the grumpy girl in the driver's seat.

"yet." heejin poked her head out the backseat. 

"shut up, this doesn't involve you." chaewon pushed heejin's face back playfully. 

"ow! my nose, stupid!" heejin complained. 

"anyways," chaewon looked back to the windshield, "what do you think would happen if your soulmate died?" 

"that's dark." hyunjin raised a brow, eye trained on the road, "i guess they're dead. what can you do about it?" 

"no, like..." chaewon shifted in the seat, "would their name fade? or like, do you get a new one? i think you should get a new one." 

"like a replacement?" hyunjin chuckled.

"that just sounds mean, more like a... an _'i owe you one'_ from the universe? y'know?" 

"that could be a movie." hyunjin thought, "the name on a girl's skin changed every year, and they think she just has bad luck, but they don't know she's killing her soulmates." 

"why would you kill your soulmate?" chaewon looked at hyunjin with a judgy scowl.

"you're the one who's asking, so you tell me, chae." hyunjin said omnously, squinting, "should i be worried for yerim?"

"come to think of it, today's her twentieth." heejin chimed in, "are you planning something?" 

"you guys! don't joke about that." chaewon huffed, crossing her arms like a stubborn child, "and you two have no right to talk about relationships. you've both been single ever since i met you in orientation."

"that's ‘cause i'm waiting for my soulmate." hyunjin shrugged, "once i meet her, though, i'll sweep her off her feet with my charms." 

"psh, sure." chaewon rolled her eyes, "and you?" she looked behind to heejin, noticing the oldest girl's tense grip on her bag. 

"um... i'm picky." heejin responded, looking to hyunjin for help, who wasn't paying them any attention. 

"seriously, why all the secrecy about your soulmates? the both of you." chaewon asked as they parked (or at least attempted to) on the side of hyunjin's favorite bakery, "i get you've been friends for a lot longer than you’ve been with me, but you know i'd keep it quiet. i'm starting to think you guys are those people who are born without them. like jiwoo."

the twitch in heejin's brow didn't go unnoticed. 

"we're here!" hyunjin yelled, immediately fleeing from the parked car. 

"uh, we should go." heejin smiled uneasily. 

"hm." chaewon grabbed her purse, "saved by the bell, i guess." 

\-----------

"i've never seen cherries on top of a cake before today." heejin said as she walked through the hallways, her arm interlocked with hyunjin's.

"you're in no place to judge, heej." hyunjin smiled, holding a bag of fresh croissants with different things inside, most of them chocolate, "you like custard on your donuts." 

"do you really want to start with who was weird food tastes?" heejin asked teasingly, "you prefer plain bread to fancy sushi." 

"what can i say? i'm a simple woman." hyunjin shrugged, "wait, where the fuck are we going?" she furrowed a brow at heejin. 

"we're going to drop off chae for her cla..." heejin dug her nails into hyunjin's jean jacket, "oh. right, chae's not here." she rolled her eyes. 

"should we go to hyejoo in the lunchroom, then?" 

"h-no, i don't like the west wing." heejin shrunk as people walked around them, shaking her head dramatically, "i feel like everyone's staring at me."

"why, cause you're an art major?" hyunjin rolled her eyes, "so you're not a super smart science person, whatever. it's fine." 

nope. it wasn't because heejin wasn't a science major, it made for a good excuse, though. it was because a certain someone's soulmate hung around these halls. heejin scanned the hall for her, frozen in place until the person she was looking for came into view. 

"oh my god!" heejin's competition for hyunjin shrieked at the same time hyunjin was pushed forward, her croissants flying up into the air and dropping to the hall's grimey floors.

"my bread!" hyunjin gasped, throwing heejin's arm off and kneeling down on the floor, brokenhearted as she counted in her head. five second rule, the bread couldn't be saved. 

"i'm so sorry!" jinsoul fell onto the floor, picking up the bread, "i wasn't watching where i was going and then you- god, hold on." 

heejin only looked down at the two girls, please. please, don't say your names to each other. 

"my bread..." hyunjin repeated, but this time sadly clutching her paper bag, the breads filled with lint. "well, this day is a fail." 

_\------------_

jinsoul furrowed her brows, the unknown girl (might she add in a yellow shirt that just said 'MEOW' in white letters, odd) looked on the verge of tears.

so she did what her parents always did to her when she had problems.

"jungie, my wallet." she looked up to her best friend.

they threw money at her.

"you didn't bring it."

"give me yours, then. i'll pay you back." 

jungeun looked at her suspiciously but dug into her pockets and threw her the wallet, which jinsoul caught with some difficulty.

"how much did they cost?" she asked softly, trying to match how fragile the girl looked. 

"ten." the girl whispered. 

"ten." jinsoul nodded, digging into jungeun's leather wallet. 

the girl must have seen just how much jungeun had in cash (she doesn't trust credit cards) and decided to make some money herself. 

_"each."_

"huh?" jinsoul blinked.

"the breads were ten dollars each." a wicked smile formed on the girl's face.

"that's a lot of money for bread, were they special breads?" jinsoul squinted. 

"morning bread." the girl's grin didn't falter. 

"i see." jinsoul nodded, surprised by the girl's ability to bullshit with such a smile, _what a scammer,_ jinsoul thought. "two, four, six, seven." she counted the croissants, taking out one ten dollar bill after the next. she could almost hear jungeun's soul leave her body. "here's your seventy." she held out the money.

"hey, a-are you serious?" the girl leaned away from the money, as if forcing herself not to take it. "i was joking, you don't-"

"take it. since i ruined your day and all." jinsoul shrugged, smiling at the shy hand reaching for it. 

"i'll take this." the girl's features were almost cat-like as she held up a ten dollar bill, "i don't scam girls. especially when they're as pretty as you are." 

"you tried to scam me a second ago and now you're... who are you?" she tilted her head curiously. 

"OH, LOOK AT THAT!" a deep voice squealed, heejin. a girl jinsoul had only met once before that, on their first day. "WE'RE GONNA BE LATE!" the unexplainably panicked girl peeled the scammer(?) off the floor before dashing off in the opposite way jinsoul and jungeun had come through. 

"she's hiding something." speaking of jungeun. the girl's brows were furrowed, "batman, i mean. her body langua-" 

"jungeun, i'm on the floor and you're worrying about heejin's body language?" jinsoul rolled her eyes, standing up and dusting herself off. 

"is that her name?" jungeun put her hand on jinsoul's shoulder as they walked to class, "how come i've never seen her around?"

"i dunno. she's probably an arts major, i've just seen her when i've gone to pick yerim up from class." 

"huh. and that girl you bumped into, what happened to hyunjin? i thought you said you'd stick it out and wait for him." jungeun raised a brow.

"i am, she's just pretty, that's all." jinsoul said cluelessly. 

\-----------

"and then she took me to the wishing well and she said i was her wish." jiwoo giggled. "and popped the question. then we went out for dinner to-" 

"that's great, ji." sooyoung said as she flipped through her notes, "really. i'm so happy for the both of you." 

"no you're not." jiwoo put her hand on top of sooyoung's hand, "you've been pouting all morning, what's wrong?" 

"it's stupid." sooyoung shook her head, "but i just... remember high school? your sophomore year?"

"the year we dated?" jiwoo raised a brow, "how could i forget, i was completely in love with you." 

"no you weren't." sooyoung chuckled, "you were terrified of me." 

"at first, but then i found what a sweetheart you really are." jiwoo smiled brightly as she pinched sooyoung's cheek.

"stop it, ji." sooyoung turned away, smiling, "i have a reputation, you know. this is why i don't sit with haseul, i don't want to look fragile." 

"so you sit with me instead?" jiwoo beamed, "what, because i'm pretty?" 

"you're more cute than you are pretty, you look like a baby." sooyoung ruffled jiwoo's bangs.

"i can be cool too!" jiwoo pouted, "juwon is always saying that i'm too young looking. i always need my id when she takes me to the club." 

"ugh, juwon this, juwon that. we get it, you're engaged." sooyoung huffed, "talk about that with chaewon, not with me." 

"let me guess. high and mighty sooyoung is lonely?"

"i'm not lonely, just... touch deprived." sooyoung admitted awkwardly.

"you know, your soulmate could help with that." jiwoo raised a brow, "i hear that your soulmate's touch feels different, like your senses are heightened? even if you don't know that they are. but i wouldn't know, of course." she shrugged, "since i don't have one."

"trust me, you're not missing out on anything." sooyoung rolled her eyes. "all i get are kiss burns, they hurt like hell."

"maybe if you were the one kissing them, things would be different." 

"ew." the thought of being intimate with jungeun made chills go down sooyoung's spine, "never." 

"oh, jungie's here!" jiwoo jumped in her seat, waving a hand at jungeun and jinsoul, who came in fashionably late, now with everyone's eyes on them. "jungie! come! sit here!"

jiwoo didn't know who sooyoung's soulmate was, but she knew who was jungeun's. and she was always a bit of a matchmaker. 

jiwoo and sooyoung watched jungeun smile and wave back before turning back to jinsoul and saying her goodbyes as jinsoul pointed to haseul, a few rows up. 

sooyoung only hid her face, really wishing she'd brought a hoodie as she heard steps come their way. 

"hey, jiwoo!" jungeun sang cheerfully, "how are you?" 

"great." jiwoo smiled, kissing jungeun's cheek. 

sooyoung hissed at the small burn on her skin from the kiss, digging her nails into her palm.

"sooyoung, i know you're tired, but can you at least say hi?" jiwoo joked, not missing how jungeun's smile dropped at the name. 

"um..." sooyoung sat up to face jungeun, the younger girl's mouth droopy and her eyes curious. almost cute. "hey."

"hi." jungeun looked down to sooyoung, deciding to not comment on sooyoung's tense hands, "um... is it okay if i sit here?" 

"uh, i don't care." sooyoung shrugged, noticing how covered up jungeun was. maybe because of last night? she still looked good though, in a tight black turtleneck top with a brown blazer over it. 

"right." the girl awkwardly put her bag down on the seat to sooyoung's right. "sorry i'm late, by the way. did i miss anything important?" she asked jiwoo, uncomfortably sitting down. 

"the teacher gave out the schedule for next month, i didn't pay attention, though." jiwoo lied. "copy it off sooyoung's, she took notes." 

jungeun looked at the older girl in between them, "can i?" 

"fine." sooyoung clenched her jaw, looking down at her notes and flipping to her most recent page.

jungeun took her planner out and went to the calendar, copying the short haired girl's notes, "your handwriting is really nice."

"thanks." sooyoung whispered, "how come you're late?" 

"it's yerim's birthday today." 

"her twentieth?" sooyoung blinked.

jungeun found it hard to focus with sooyoung's eyes on her, "yeah, we swung by her dorm before coming over here. she's got two o's so far, could be you." she smiled. 

"ha. right." sooyoung understood what jiwoo meant by having your senses heightened. she felt compelled to study jungeun's face, delirious and drowning jungeun's rosy scent. "w-wait, isn't yerim a gemini?" 

"we thought so too." jungeun nodded, "but her mother lied? about her birthday? she said it was on june 4th, but when we went to go pick up her things, her birth certificate said she was born on march 4th." 

"what?" sooyoung chuckled, "that's a strange thing to lie about." 

"i thought so too." jungeun leaned away. "thanks for the notes."

"yeah."

\-----------

"god, they are stupid." jinsoul shook her head with disapproval as haseul nodded in agreement.

"and so awkward, i want to scream." haseul rubbed her forehead, more stressed for her roommate's inability to talk to the person the universe has deemed perfect for her than she ever was for herself during the SATs. 

anyone who spared a glance at the two former rivals for valedictorian of their graduating class (jinsoul won at the end) would think their favorite sports team was losing 0 to 37. nope, just watching their idiot roommates (their words) look around the room, trying to distract themselves from each other. the sight was painful for both jinsoul and haseul, who wished for nothing more than to meet their own soulmates already. 

"at this rate, they'll get together approximately..." jinsoul squinted, it'd been three years of the girls knowing about their roommate's reciprocative soulmates, and two years of subtly trying to push them together. somewhere along the way, jungeun decided she hated sooyoung and the older girl returned the sentiment for reasons unknown to both jinsoul and haseul. "never. i say we give up." 

"jung jinsoul, former chess club, debate club, and robotics club president? _giving up?"_ haseul teased. 

"i feel like i'm watching ross and rachel in season two of friends." jinsoul hit her head into the desk with a loud bang, "ow." she weakly whispered. 

haseul looked back to sooyoung, who was trying to stuff her hands into her pants' fake pockets. "what a moron. if i knew wong kahei, i wouldn't waste a second of my time without her." 

"well, they technically are together right now, they're just not talking." jinsoul sighed, "kim hyunjin, come save me already."

"imagine your knight in shining armor is a english major." haseul smiled, "getting a degree for a language they already know."

"then i might pull a jungeun and try to erase their name." jinsoul rubbed the name on her thigh.

"god, that's so stupid. isn't she smart or whatever?" haseul asked, leaning into her own desk and noticing just how straight jinsoul sat up, her hair dripping down her shoulders and somehow not cold in that itty bitty tube top. maybe it was the mesh shirt under? haseul guessed it was just for style, though. like the piercing on jinsoul's tongue, god, that must have hurt.

"are you checking me out?" jinsoul smirked, "seul, you know i'm not into girls like that." 

"please, me checking you out?" haseul scoffed, not at all affected by jinsoul's teasing, "i think it's obvious who's checking who out." 

"me?" jinsoul pointed to herself with an amused smile, "what's there to check out? you're drowning in fabric, i've never even seen your shoulders." 

"some of us don't have a body like yours, jinsoul." haseul excused.

"lies!" jinsoul argued, "senior year, prom. that tight nude dress you wore? and you got your makeup professionally done?" 

"okay, fine." haseul shrugged, surprised that jinsoul remembered, "but what's the point of dressing up? i'm comfy like this." haseul looked down to her outfit, just a brown plaid dress shirt and some leggings. 

"oh my god, look, look, look!" jinsoul tapped haseul's shoulder.

"what is it, what is it?" haseul peeked at the other side of the room, jungeun was talking with sooyoung! 

"praise the lord." jinsoul smiled,

“our prayers have been answered!” haseul cheered, before- 

sooyoung nodded and took out an- eraser? 

"oh." haseul blinked, jungeun took the eraser and scrubbed it on her paper before giving it back to the older girl. then they went back to ignoring each other.

"idiots." haseul and jinsoul whispered under their breaths. 

\-----------

yeojin looked around the unfamiliar hallways, praying that for once, her internship at the college's office would do her some good, looking for her gateway to see yerim. 

and there she was! the blonde haired girl stepped out of the classroom with a scowl and a tight grip on her book bag. 

"oh no." yeojin chuckled, chaewon's outfit did not match her mood. she had a sweet and floral spring dress out, but a look as cold as winter that made the crowd part. yeojin noticed the name written on her arm for all to see, as if to show it off. 

maybe microeconomics was harder than usual, or maybe a certain girl was being difficult to chaewon. luckily, yeojin had predicted the bad mood and had brought her something to drink. 

yeojin took a deep breath before running up to gowon, "wonnie! i was waiting for you!" 

"oh, hey." yeojin watched chaewon's face soften as she looked down to her, "what are you doing here, paparazzi? reporting on someone picking their nose?" she patted yeojin's head. 

"shush." yeojin playfully punched chaewon, "i'm going to be a real, respected journalist soon!"

"and celebrity gossip is the way to do it?" chaewon referred to yeojin's most recent gig, in some big company that spent all day creating rumors about famous people chaewon didn't know.

"i'm working for TMZ, hon." yeojin flipped her hair, "what are you doing? definitely not working there. in just a few months, i'll be working for the washington post, THE washington post!" sure, she was just getting coffee for arrogant men for now, but it was a start! climb the corporate ladder, haseul had advised.

"yeah, because i'm studying to become a president." chaewon said with confidence, "or a mayor, at least." she shrugged. 

"as they say, reach for the moon." yeojin pushed a drink to chaewon, "here, i got you something to drink."

"what is it?" chaewon tilted her head curiously as she accepted the drink and took a sip through the (metal, courtesy of yeojin) straw.

"i didn't know what you'd like so i just got you what i like, a green grape mojito. light ice." yeojin tapped the cup. 

"hm!" the political science major's eyes widened as she took a sip, "this is good, where'd you get it?" 

"it's a little stand outside the campus, you can't miss it." yeojin recommended. "did you get the cherry cake to yerim?"

_"... kind of."_ chaewon nodded, "i went to her dorm and tried to give it to her, but there were two girls there already, and they wouldn't let me see her, so i just dropped it off there." 

"two girls? isn't yerim in a single dorm? she doesn't have roommates." 

"yeah, they're some friends of hers. you know, the girl with the nice lips and her goth girlfriend?" chaewon explained, taking another sip. 

"you mean jungeun and jinsoul?" yeojin chuckled, "how do you not know them? they're practically yerim's moms."

"that's their names!" chaewon smiled, "they don't like me very much. they first met me when yerim was... nevermind."

"you should check on her. aren't your soulmate senses tingling?" 

"tingling?" chaewon chuckled, "i'll go see her in a little. wanna have lunch with me?" 

"sure, can we get tteokbokki?" yeojin's face lit up.

"it's a little expensive but... ah, why not?" chaewon agreed.

“yes!” yeojin squealed, “second free meal of the day!”

_“hey!_ don’t be a mooch!” chaewon scolded.

\-----------

"yeri?" chaewon peeked into the room after knocking for a whole two minutes, sighing when she saw a familiar silhouette on the purple bed. "god, you scared me." 

"hm." yerim whispered, not looking away from the window.

"oh no." chaewon closed the door, "pajamas at three in the afternoon? what's wrong, precious?"

yerim closed her eyes, where to begin? she breathed out shakily, not daring to look at chaewon. "you have to promise you won't get mad."

"yeri, you're scaring me." chaewon tried to joke. 

"promise me." 

chaewon blinked, "o-okay. i promise."

"promise what?" 

"i promise to not get mad." chaewon took a step forward. "what's wrong?"

"it's not yours." 

"not mine?" chaewon assumed the worst but tried to push the thought away. but what else could it be? 

"i'm sorry, chae." yerim bit her lip as she pulled her shirt up, and chaewon thought right.

staring back was a name that didn't belong to her, a name she didn't even recognize. a name she wished she could wipe off yerim's skin. 

_"who the hell is son hyejoo?"_ gowon scoffed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> twt:@toolovelyhyun
> 
> what'd you think? it's my first (published) work, so tell me in the comments how you feel about this. any suggestions? predictions? (ps: haseul is back :D)


	2. catfight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hiii! thanks for all the support on the last chapter, enjoy this one! (i haven't decided on jiwoo's major yet, what should she be in?)

"you ready?" hyejoo roared, putting her hand on the car's roof and crouching down to look at her opponent, a hint of playfulness in her smile. 

"i'm ready to kick your ass." the short haired girl hissed, revving her car engine to show off. 

"scary." hyejoo raised a brow, "but you know you love me, ryu." 

"do i?" ryujin smirked, "yeah. i do. may the best racer win." she reached her hand out the car and to hyejoo. 

"me? thanks." hyejoo cackled as she slipped her mask on her face, with a cheshire smile decorating it. 

"the mask comes on and son hyejoo comes off." ryujin puffed smoke out of her vape, "pussy. scared of getting caught?" she taunted. 

"not scared, just not stupid." hyejoo clicked her tongue, "using your real name and not bothering with a mask when street racing is illegal is plain out dumb." 

"right. olivia hye." ryujin teased, making hyejoo roll her piercing eyes.

"how dare you," hyejoo said in a monotone voice, "wanna get drinks after this whole thing tonight? loser pays."

"you're on." ryujin nodded, "can i bring my girl?" 

"julia hates my guts and you know it." hyejoo ran her hand through her hair, "ah, why not? misery loves company." 

"aye!" ryujin cheered, "say, what car did they get you this time? something red again?" she chuckled as she looked into the garage, no other car in sight.

"very. this whole blue-red war is just plain-out cliche, we should talk to CL soon." hyejoo joked, nobody complained to CL. not if they wanted their money. 

"funny. does it at least have flames like you wanted?" 

"all over!" hyejoo giggled, spreading her arms out, "she's got an open roof too." 

ryujin would never admit it, but hyejoo's excitement for her cars was kind of adorable. 

"olivia! your car's here!" aisha yelled through the warehouse, as if their earpieces didn't work just fine. 

"can't wait to see it." ryujin cringed, putting her hand on her ear, "you don't want to keep yoorim waiting, though. good luck, joo." she gave hyejoo a small smile. 

"you too." hyejoo nodded, "good luck, ryu." she patted her back. 

\--------

_"are you ready?!"_ the silver-haired girl, miya, yelled into the megaphone. 

"yeah!" the crowd cheered as both girls popped their knuckles, looking at each other with mischief. 

"i hope you've all placed your bets, because i hear our competitors are gonna show their best tonight! olivia hye versus shin ryujin, sixteen thousand dollars on the line!" 

the crowd only went crazier at the amount as the girls put both hands on the wheel, with their feet just barely not touching the pedal. 

"you ready to get left in the dust, olivia?!" ryujin hissed, building up the fake tension for the crowd, who only 'ooh'ed as they waited for a comeback. 

"please." olivia rolled her eyes, "you won't be too happy after i kick your ass." she roared. 

"ready?" miya tightly gripped her gun, bedazzled with jewels, as the walked away from the road, "set..." 

"GO!" miya yelled, shooting her pistol and sending the cars off, leaving the crowd screaming, one half with red on their face and the other one with blue, cheering for their champions. 

\--------

"good game." ryujin huffed, wonkily holding her hand out. 

"despite the fact that i beat you by a whole minute?" olivia cackled, throwing her arms around the girls by her side. “no thanks.”

"you're so cool, olivia!" the first girl gushed. 

"and hot." her friend giggled. 

"d-don't say that!" 

"why not? we were all thinking it." 

"god, whoever's name is on your skin wins life." a pink haired girl pouted. 

"right? my birthday's next week, you should come. maybe it'll be you, olivia?" a hand trailed up her arm.

hyejoo didn't consider herself a charmer, but she had to admit, being surrounded by pretty girls and having just won ten thousand dollars? it was pretty sweet. of course, son hyejoo would be weak at knees at all the attention, so she was glad it was olivia receiving it. when she was olivia, she could be who she really wanted to be without the fear of getting judged. olivia hye was cool, calm, flirty and a total chick magnet. but _son hyejoo?_ ... a mess. a shy, awkward, mess. 

"sorry ladies, but i'm stealing via." julia, or lia for short, tugged at olivia's red jacket with a smile, "she promised we'd go get some drinks together."

olivia smiled beneath her face mask, lia knew how to play up the girls' jealousy. maybe because she was one of the fangirls once, and was now a close friend of both ryujin and hyejoo (yes, hyejoo. not olivia)? maybe she gave the girls hope? that one day they could be close to her? olivia didn't know exactly why, but she didn't mind. 

"really?" 

"i don't believe you." two of the girls gave her a stink eye. 

"but she didn't sign my shirt!" a short girl whined.

"and what about my birthday party?!" 

"she's right." olivia hummed lowly, "let's go." she put her arm around lia, who giggled as the girls visibly shrunk into themselves. 

"right this way, handsome." lia winked, reminding hyejoo that her and ryujin weren't exclusive. 

\-----------------------------------

the next day, hyejoo got up extra early to head to her dorm, waking up in bed next to lia. she didn’t remember anything about what had happened after midnight, but she could very well guess why she was there. the rest of the day went by pretty uneventfully until around lunchtime. 

"hey jojo!" a cheery voice made hyejoo flinch and almost lose her hold on her big stack of books. but the fear went away as soon as she looked up to her smiling roommate.

"jesus, you scared me." the older of the two rolled her eyes, "did you bring my bag?" 

"wow. no hi or missed i you or what's up? but yeah, right here." yeojin swung hyejoo's messenger bag over her shoulder, patting it as hyejoo opened it, setting her books down on the bag. 

"so, why'd you text?" hyejoo set her last book down, taking the bag. 

"oh, no reason. just wanted to have lunch with you." yeojin shrugged, putting (or, least trying, hyejoo was too tall) her arm over hyejoo's shoulder, "where were you yesterday?"

"uh..." hyejoo internally panicked, "w-where else? in bed." she took a risk, hoping yeojin wasn't at their dorm last night. 

"hm." yeojin nodded, "okay, good. i thought you were studying late again." hyejoo couldn't hold back a sigh, "anyways, remember that girl i told you about?"

"yeojin, you mention a million girls to me, most of them over the age of forty. more specific, please." hyejoo whispered helplessly as they walked through the hallway, curling into herself as _oh-so-confident yeojin_ skipped carelessly in the center of the hallway, her blonde hair bouncing at every step. 

"you know her! she's an art major?" 

"useless degree." hyejoo whispered, "are you talking about my sister's girlfriend? hajin?" 

"her name is heejin and you know it." yeojin raised a brow, heejin and hyunjin have been friends for ten years, and hyejoo was nine when she met heejin. 

"i do. i just don't like her." hyejoo pushed her hair back, "she clings onto hyunjin like a lost puppy clings onto someone who gave it a scrap of ham." 

"right? and she's the only one that knows who's name is on hyunjin's skin, and i bet it's not her." yeojin sympathized. 

"you're the only one who understands me." hyejoo smiled, putting her arm around yeojin, "they're selling churros outside and i pocketed some money, wanna get some?" 

"god, your sister is such a good influence." yeojin said half-jokingly, making hyejoo giggle lowly, "maybe after lunch, for dessert?" 

"fine by me." hyejoo nodded, "oh, right. you were saying something. about heejin?" 

"it wasn't about heejin. it's about this other girl. yerim." yeojin looked to hyejoo, who couldn't hide her cluelessness of the name. "it doesn't ring a bell, does it?" she smiled endearingly. 

"never heard of her." hyejoo admitted, shaking her head, "you mean katy? her real name is yerim, right?"

"no, that's kim yerim. choi yerim. she dyed her hair purple last year? loudest thing ever? never stops smiling?"

"sounds like jiwoo." hyejoo hummed. 

"no. choi yerim." yeojin sighed, "it was her birthday yesterday." 

"her twentieth?" hyejoo fiddled with the green 'HYJ' embroidered on her black jean jacket as she headed inside the crowded cafeteria. 

"of course." yeojin smiled, holding the hand hyejoo had around her for good measure, she knew how much hyejoo hated too many people, that it made her feel like everyone was looking at her. they’d known each other for a little over a year and they honestly didn’t have much in common, but they enjoyed each other’s company (yeojin always said she did, and a drunken hyejoo said yeojin was her best friend. that was enough). "you know i never miss a birthday."

"that's ‘cause you're part of the birthday committee. which is so stupid, by the way. you haven't even gotten your soulmate yet. how are you supposed to help others cope when they don't get their celebrity crush as their soulmate?" hyejoo chuckled as they walked over to the starbucks in the corner of the lively cafeteria. 

"hey," yeojin rolled her eyes, digging into her pocket for money as they stood in line, "at least i try to empathize. not like you, who's birthday wish has always been to not have a soulmate." 

"not just in my birthday wish. on christmas, i asked santa to take away my soulmate. i got a nintendo instead." she took her credit card out with a sigh. 

"and that's how you fell in love with video games and realized you were into programming? how cliche." yeojin teased. 

"that's better than my story. heejin broke it and i fixed it by hand." hyejoo bragged. 

"so that's why you really hate heejin." yeojin giggled.

"oops. caught." hyejoo huffed, "hey, let's get something new today. an... american." she pointed to the menu. 

"americano, stupid."

"i know you are, but what am i?" 

"ugly." 

"hey!"

\-----------------------------------

chaewon stood with her arms crossed, looking expectantly at yerim, "well? i ditched class for this." she fidgeted with her dress shirt's sleeves. 

"actually, i was kind of hoping you'd speak first." yerim shrugged, "i just want to know how you feel. about, us?" 

"like shit." chaewon flipped her hair, "but you don't want to hear that. so i'm going to tell you what you want me to say, i'll just let you know that it's not the truth." 

yerim didn't even know what she wanted to hear, but she shyly nodded. "uh, okay?"

"i'm happy for you. even if it's not me, i'm happy you have someone that's perfect for you. and if you want to date her..." chaewon's voice was as bitter as the scowl on her face, "i'll be happy for you." 

"but?"

"but it'll take me a while to see you with someone else, and you have to understand where i'm coming from, feelings from a long-year relationship aren't just gonna go away. and i know a little bit about your soulmate now. i looked her up." chaewon watched yerim's eyes widen, "if you ask, i'm going to tell you, i want you to have the balls to tell me you want to know who she is. do you?"

"chae, i-" yerim sighed, she didn't want to break chaewon's heart, but she really, really wanted to know who her soulmate was.

"ask me." chaewon bit her lip, "i can handle it." she lied. 

"well, i can't." yerim shook her head, "i- i want you here. with me." 

"as what? a friend? your girlfriend?" chaewon blinked, "and i don't want an 'i don't know'. i need to know. for my sake." 

"i'm sorry, chae." yerim covered her face, "i just... this isn't easy for me." 

"isn't it? your soulmate isn't me. it's that simple."

"and i'm your soulmate. imagine how difficult this is for me." the brown haired girl huffed. 

"right." chaewon looked to the dorm's walls, not at all surprised that she didn’t find pictures of her and yerim not hanging there like they always had been, "i need to get back to class. bye." she grabbed her bag and before yerim could say another word, she walked out, not without a loud slam from the door, though.

sometimes, yerim really hated how good chaewon was at arguing.

\-----------------------------------

"so i went to talk to her, because i have to get paid, right? i don't capture blackmail material for no reason." yeojin complained. 

"uh huh." hyejoo didn't spare yeojin a glance, making the blonde girl roll her eyes. what was hyejoo so eager on seeing? 

"and then he hatched an egg." yeojin said plainly, deciding to test if hyejoo was even paying attention. 

"uh huh." hyejoo nodded. 

"hyejooooo..." yeojin slapped her roommate's back, "i love you." 

"me too." hyejoo said back mindlessly before she processed what she'd heard, "w-wait, what?" she looked back at yeojin, flustered, "i-i didn't say that. you said it."

"i'm pretty sure i heard a 'me too'." yeojin smiled, "and you're clearly not paying attention to me. what are we looking at?" she looked past hyejoo with wide eyes. 

"d-don't be so obvious!" hyejoo pushed yeojin back down, "she's gonna see you!"

"oh, it's a she?" yeojin smirked, _"your girlfriend?"_ she wiggled her eyebrows. 

"she's a classmate." hyejoo rolled her eyes, "so, no. not my girlfriend." 

"a crush, then." yeojin tilted her head, "who?" she looked back, more subtly this time.

"the one in black. don't stare." 

yeojin scanned the staircase that led up to the second floor. five girls were coming down, one of them in head to toe black. she didn't want to believe it, but who else could it be? 

_"jung jinsoul."_ yeojin gulped, watching the girl flip her hair and walk confidently in gigantic platform boots that covered most on her leg, up to the knee, with black fishnets on her legs. yeojin thought the outfit screamed dress code, the tight leather skirt and the see-through top, especially. "you know her?"

"i know of her.” hyejoo corrected, “she's famous in the science department. how do you know her?"

"she's my friend's college mom." yeojin gulped, way to throw a wrench at her plan to get yerim and hyejoo (at the very least) to meet. "but jinsoul? really? she's a dork."

"a cute one," hyejoo watched jinsoul and the brunette girl her arms were locked with stop at the bottom of the stairs. she'd seen them around before, and she couldn't believe how different they looked. the brunette was in a teddy coat and plain jeans, with uggs, of all things. 

jinsoul whispered something and both girls split up, with jinsoul walking over to the tables and the shorter girl walking out the cafeteria. did she just go there to drop jinsoul off? "call me crazy, but she looks like she's walking over here."

yeojin traced to where jinsoul was looking, "i... i think she is coming over here?" she raised a brow. 

"oh my god, she's looking at me, act cool." hyejoo sat up straight and reached for yeojin's yogurt, taking a spoonful into her mouth. 

"eating yogurt is cool?" 

"shut up, i look busy." hyejoo mumbled. 

"hey," jinsoul put her hand on the table as she looked down to hyejoo, "son hyejoo, right?" 

"y-yeah." hyejoo swallowed, "hi." 

"i'm jinsoul." the older girl smiled as she took a seat next to the freshman, "i'm a computer science major, like you."

"i...i know." hyejoo smiled, "you're only like, the smartest girl." 

"oh, you flatter me." jinsoul put her hand on hyejoo's shoulder, "but i hear you're the girl to look out for in your grade? and you're pretty, too. is she my competition for you?" she gestured to yeojin, who sat frozen in shock at jinsoul's obvious flirting. _isn't she meant to be yerim's friend? and what would jungeun say about this disloyalty?_

"a-ah, no." hyejoo was obviously taken aback by her straightforwardness. "no competition." she shrugged, trying not to think of all the girls all over her (mostly lia) yesterday.

"great. can i have your number, then?" jinsoul played with the hook of her choker, "i-i mean, if you're interested?" 

"she's not." yeojin got up defensively, "she's not into girls like you." 

"girls like me?" jinsoul stood up, "what's that mean, yeo?" she squinted at the (much) shorter girl. 

"you know what i mean." yeojin reached up and patted her head, "now. i'm going to leave. jojo, you coming?" she looked down to a very confused hyejoo. 

"she doesn't have to go." jinsoul put her hand on top of hyejoo's, making yeojin twitch, "she can stay here with me. i was hoping to get her alone, either way." she smirked.

"a-actually, she's right." hyejoo stood up, hiding behind yeojin, "i promised my sister i'd check on her friend, so i gotta do that. sorry, maybe i'll see you again sometime?"

"maybe." jinsoul smiled, "nice to meet you, hyejoo. i hope to see more of you soon." 

"uh, same here." hyejoo grabbed her book bag and ran off after yeojin. 

"interesting." jinsoul squinted. 

\-----------------------------------

"i don't get how painting is supposed to help me de-stress." chaewon's brows furrowed as she looked down to her empty canvas, and then to heejin's, with a pencil sketch of the building in front of them already done. 

"it's easy." heejin shrugged, "you put your emotions into it and focus. not on anything else, work, school-"

"unrequited soulmates?" chaewon sighed. 

"well, that works too." heejin shrugged, "look. let's try something different, this drawing-what-you-see thing isn't working." she pushed her canvas out of the way and shut the blue curtains of the art room. 

"obviously." chaewon watched heejin look through her book of ideas for what to draw, "you know, maybe i can just go to another pottery class with yeojin. last time i went, we g-"

"no, no, no." heejin shook her head, "how about we freestyle? just draw how we feel." 

"alright." chaewon huffed, reaching for the red, "if i really think about it, i knew it was coming. these past few weeks just felt... off." 

heejin looked between chaewon and her drawing, "uh huh?" 

"i was always the one starting conversations. and she wouldn't respond to my good morning messages either."

"maybe she was just feeling down, i mean, imagine the pressure. you're with someone and you don't even know who your soulmate is, it could be your best friend, heck, your professor, anyone. maybe she just didn't want to disappoint you." heejin shrugged, "and she was right to be worried, it wasn't you at the end."

"i know that, heejin." chaewon nodded, "it's just... is she really going to choose her soulmate over me? what if she's an asshole?"

"she's a she?" heejin raised a brow, "is she someone from school?"

"that's none of your business." chaewon squinted, "if she wanted to tell you she would, you know."

"that's not fair." heejin put her pencil down, "we're friends, me and yerim. she would tel-"

"and so are we. but you don't say anything about your soulmate." chaewon scowled, "why? because it's not who you wanted it to be? because it's not hyunjin?" 

"don't. don't. bring hyunjin into this." heejin pointed at chaewon, "this isn't about her." 

chaewon almost wanted to chuckle, she knew it. she hit a nerve. "isn't it?" she balled up her fists, "you wouldn't even be talking to me right now if she was available." 

"i'm helping you, idiot." heejin hissed, looking down at the shorter girl. "i'm being nice. i don't have to do this." 

"and you don't want to, either." chaewon pushed heejin away, "you're just doing this to look good. for who? for hyunjin." 

"shut up!" heejin yelled, and chaewon had finally had enough. 

"why don't you?!" the younger girl reached down and grabbed a nearby paint bucket, splattering black over heejin's clean white shirt.

"ah!" heejin took a step back, looking to chaewon, who didn't look even a little sorry. "i've had it up here with you!" she charged toward chaewon, pushing her into the wall. 

"bitch, get off of me!" the blonde blocked heejin as she punched her in the neck, making her fall back in pain.

then, chaewon's phone rang, making both girls stop to look at it. 

_my yerim <33_

"i don't have time for this." chaewon pushed heejin off and picked up her phone before walking away, not without a "but this isn't over." as she closed the door. 

heejin blinked, looking back at the black paint, on her shirt, on the floor, on two perfectly white canvases. 

"i'm not picking that up." heejin crossed her arms, looking at the paint, challenging her. 

heejin squinted, "fine. but only because i want to." she scoffed as she kneeled down with napkins and dabbed the biggest puddle off. after a few minutes, she shook her head, _fuck. why did i say that? stupid, stupid heejin. she’s gonna think t-_

"oh, heej," a voice heejin knew way too well faked sympathy, "what a mess." 

"shut up. you just caught me at my worst moment today." heejin sighed, looking back to hyejoo, who had a hand on her hip. she almost felt like a maid. 

"i was talking about the paint. but if the shoe fits, then lace it on." hyejoo crossed her arms, "hyunjin wanted me to check on you and a blondie. i'm guessing the girl i just saw walk out with the other half of the paint on her pants was her?" she raised a brow. 

"things got out of hand." heejin looked down at the paint, "can you pass the mop?" 

"i wonder what made you so mad." hyejoo whistled as she threw heejin a broom. 

"i said the mop, idiot." the older girl shot hyejoo a death glare. "and i didn't get mad. she did. she threw a fit over her soulmate."

"oh. kind of like you did when you got yours?" hyunjin smiled, "and after hyunjin got hers?"

"shut up." 

"feisty, aren't we? i don't think hyunjin would be too happy if she knew you were talking like that to her sister." 

"help me clean or leave." heejin gave her a death glare. 

"gladly." hyejoo turned around, "have fun cleaning." 

heejin scoffed as hyejoo closed the door behind her.

_kind of like you did when you got yours? and after hyunjin has hers?_

"i'm such a hypocrite." heejin whistled, "sorry, chae."

\-----------------------------------

about half a year ago, heejin remembers lying in bed, with hyunjin's back turned to her (she was never a big fan of cuddling, much to heejin's chagrin), snoring peacefully. the older girl was examining the spot hyunjin had cried over, swore she was in scorching pain, like a fire, she described. 

heejin had read about it before, and it seemed pretty undesirable, though she would never know for sure. and now, she couldn't believe how calm she was. she knew the name of her soulmate and she wasn't trying to find her? how would she have felt if she knew heejin lied? that she knew jinsoul?

but why did she lie? the truth is, it slipped out. she wanted to say yes, even then she was debating waking hyunjin up to tell her everything she knew about jinsoul. that she was single, a computer science major, valedictorian of her class, and... well, that's all she knew. she could find out more if she tried, though. she'd do it if hyunjin asked. 

_i wish i had one._ heejin thought to herself, and it clicked. 

she's jealous. 

"hyunjin?" heejin asked. 

"mm?" hyunjin groaned, half asleep. 

"i love you." 

"i know." hyunjin smiled, getting a slap on her back from her best friend. 

"idiot," her voice cracked, "you're supposed to say it back." 

"you know i don't like saying it. it's corny." hyunjin shook her head. "go to sleep, heej. we can trade saliva tomorrow." 

the thought of kissing hyunjin made heejin gulp, ew. "we're practically sisters." heejin raised a brow. 

"then don't say that lovey shit." hyunjin chuckled, "that's gay." 

"hyun, you're gay." heejin didn't know what to do with her mess of a friend.

"oops. see? more reason not to say it back, you're gay too so it makes it... y'know?" she shrugged. 

"i'm pan." heejin corrected. 

"you're a pan?" hyunjin faked shock under her sleeping mask (which heejin didn't understand, her bedroom was dark minus the cat night light). 

"fuck you." heejin smiled, "say you love me and i'll let you be." she kicked hyunjin's back with her foot. 

"why would i lie?"

"bitch." heejin smiled, "jung jinsoul has got to be the unluckiest girl ever."

"please. you'll be crying when i meet her and leave you in the dust for my missus." 

heejin's smile was wiped right off her face at hyunjin's words. _was it true? would she lose hyunjin to jinsoul?_

_it made sense, who would want their girlfriend to be so close to another woman? was this temporary, then? all of their movie nights, all of their special days being reserved for each other?_

"ha." heejin coughed out awkwardly, "goodnight, idiot."

hyunjin smiled to herself, not knowing the storm she'd set off inside heejin's head. "night."

and an hour later, when heejin finally stopped spiraling into possible situations, she knew one thing for sure.

hyunjin would never meet jinsoul. not if heejin had anything to do with it.

\-----------------------------------

"i met hyejoo today." jinsoul whispered to jungeun, who was on the edge of slumber. 

"who's that?" jungeun yawned, leaning up into jinsoul's touch. 

"settle down." jinsoul laid jungeun back down to the bed, rubbing her back with massage oil, "she's our yerimie's soulmate." 

"what did i tell you about meddling?" jungeun sighed. 

"i didn't tell her, i just talked with her a little! she's a computer science major, too." jinsoul hummed. "and she knows me already."

"she knows you?" jungeun raised a brow.

"yeah, i'm famous, remember? i'm a model, and i'm smart." 

"yerim takes all your pictures." 

"she's an art major! she knows all the angles and the lighting and all the colorful thingies." jinsoul shrugged, "right?"

"for the smartest woman in the science department, you sure don't act like it." jungeun's comment made jinsoul gasp in offense.

"don't you know what hyejoo was like?" jinsoul tempted. 

"fine." jungeun sighed. "make it short, though."

"in three words, a flustered mess. i get it, though. if i was meeting me, i'd be nervous too."

"you're a nerd. there's nothing to be scared of. other than the way you dress. you look like death." 

"this is meant to be negative?" jinsoul smiled. 

"and you're a dork, too."

"jungie, i'm not a dork!" jinsoul pouted at the word, "i'm not!" she got off jungeun's back. 

"really? do-" jungeun blinked at the pillow that was thrown her way. "oh, it's on." she clicked her tongue. 

jinsoul shrieked, trying to run away despite her legs being tangled on jungeun's back, _"RUN!"_

\-----------------------------------

"sooyoung, i need your full attention for this." haseul turned to sooyoung, who was busy eating the chocolate treats heejin had given her on a bet. 

"hm?" sooyoung sighed, sitting up from the bed and pausing her show. 

"how do i look?" haseul put her hands on her hips, "too much?" 

sooyoung looked haseul up and down, she was still in the same turtleneck and blazer she had been in the morning, "um...you changed something?" she blinked. 

haseul sighed, "my hair, dummy. i straightened it."

"yeah, no difference." sooyoung shook her head, "who are you trying to look good for? the students?"

"the teachers." haseul corrected, "i need to have a good first impression so i can get another internship after this one." she breathed, "but this is my first time working with high schoolers, teens." she cringed. 

"oh, you'll be fine." sooyoung smiled, "just be your best charming self."

"right." haseul chuckled, looking down at her watch, "the bus should be here soon. i'll see you later."

"good luck." sooyoung sang as haseul grabbed her purse and headed out of the dorm.

\--------

"alright, jo haseul, right?" the secretary in the front lobby, _wendy,_ her name tag read, smiled kindly at the short haired girl next to her. 

"right," haseul took out her schedule, "i'm scheduled to meet principal kim?"

"ah, you're one of the teacher-assistant interns. take this." wendy handed haseul a name tag that read _visitor: haseul_ , "and go to room six, it should be right on your left." 

"thank you." haseul bowed, looking around at the beautiful lobby of the boarding school, filled with spoiled rich kids, she'd heard. hopefully they'd have some mercy on her.

\--------

haseul blinked. so maybe she got lost. _right door? room who? the right one on the left? or was it the left hall and then the right?_ the more she wandered around, the more she considered texting sooyoung, since she'd apparently gone to this school, maybe that said something about how grumpy her roommate turned out. 

she could only imagine how out of place she looked, with the posture of an adult, but the nervousness in her eyes like a child. _crap, what if i get fired right away?_ she thought to herself.

"oh, thank the lord." a quiet voice sighed, "you're lost too?" haseul turned around to a short girl with a worried smile. 

"y-yeah, i'm an intern." haseul looked around nervously, "haseul. jo haseul."

"you're- huh?" the girl blinked, leaning in her ear despite the empty hallways, like her name was a secret. "i don't think i heard you right." she explained. 

"i'm haseul." she repeated, maybe the girl had weak hearing, "jo haseul. and you?"

"i'm..." the girl moved her mouth but no words came out, "i-i'm vivian. everyone just calls me vivi, though." 

"vivian." haseul repeated with a smile, "nice to meet you, vivian. you're an intern too?" 

"yeah, but i can't find the meeting room. a teacher gave me this paper, but it's a little... messy." she handed haseul a note with possibly the worst cursive she'd ever seen (yeojin's was a close second, though).

"oh gosh, this looks like a doctor's handwriting." haseul sighed, making vivi giggle. "let's go find another doctor."

"right." vivi let haseul lead the way as she tugged at her shirt, grateful she wore a shirt that covered the name on her collarbone,

_jo haseul._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> twt: toolovelyhyun
> 
> hm... why'd vivi lie though? is heejin morally corrupt? hyerim or chaerim? hell, hyewonrim? let me know.
> 
> i hope you all like this chapter, i'm going to try to stay consistent and update every other tuesday from now on! let me know what you think and stay tuned (ew) for the next one! the next chapter will be last 'prologue-y' one, so get excited, the story's starting soon. leave comments so i know people are actually reading, love ya!
> 
> (also, we got brown haired gowon??? i'm gonna need to find a way to write that in lol)


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